Madeleine McCann cops have 'weeks to nail suspect as probe risks collapse'

05 November 2023 , 14:58

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Christian Brueckner is a German convictd paedophile (Image: REX/Shutterstock)

German police carrying out the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have only a matter of weeks to save their case, it has been claimed.

Detectives probing say their case could be scrapped by the New Year if they can't come up with a fresh lead. Just a few days ago, the convicted paedophile's lawyer claimed the German police's investigation was "shaky".

Brueckner is yet to be formally charged - but was named by cops as the prime suspect after three-year-old Madeleine vanished in 2007 while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Maddie disappeared in 2007 (PA)

She was snatched from her parents' holiday home in Praia da Luz (PA)

A source close to the investigation told The Sun: “The next few weeks are make or break for the detectives investigating Christian B. Publicly they are saying they remain convinced he is linked to Maddie’s disappearance, and that they will present evidence in due course. But, privately, the case is close to collapsing. There’s no new leads, and the primary witness they were relying on has totally gone offside."

When prosecutors obtained testimony from Helge B, they believed they had the golden ticket which linked Brueckner to the disappearance and killing of Maddie. German officials have maintained that they believe the youngster was taken and then killed by the twisted sex offender. Portuguese and British officials, as well as her parents, have held out hope that she could still be alive.

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Investigators searching Christian B's property (Phil Harris)

Helge B was a friend of Brueckner and convicted criminal who had agreed to work with German authorities and share what he knew about the paedopile.

Our source alleged that Helge B's testimony may not be as reliable as the German officials had hoped. They said: "Helge B hasn’t been supporting detectives for a long time, and there is a huge black shadow over everything he’s told them up until this point. The reality is that without a fresh lead or a change in the direction of the investigation the probe into Christian B will be dead in the water by the New Year. The clock is ticking and what makes things even harder is the fact that relations between the German cops and Portuguese officers are at an all time low."

Maddie's parents Kate and Gerry McCann (Getty Images)

It comes after Brueckner's lawyer told a BBC investigation that the police probe was near "crashing down". In the new documentary, "Prime Suspect: Who Took Madeleine McCann", he slammed the "lack of substance" in the case.

He added: "This is rather a sign that the prosecution's investigations are built on very, very shaky foundations, so that the slightest breath of wind could possibly bring the entire construct crashing down, and this is an indication of how lacking in substance this investigation is."

Sex offender Brueckner first emerged as the prime suspect in the case in June 2020 after police said they had strong evidence to implicate him in the offence. Ever since, they have been working to prove his role in the snatching and probably murder of little Madeleine. They allege that he had planned to steal from the family, but the crime took a more nefarious turn.

Bruecknerhas a long criminal history, for both burglary and sex crimes, including against young girls. In the past quarter of a century, he's been linked to several disappearances. One six-year-old boy in Portugal in 1996 and a five-year-old girl in Germany in 2015 are thought to be his victims.

Ryan Fahey